The European Union has extended its sanctions on Russia to state-backed media outlets RT and Sputnik.

The move was in response to Russia's unprovoked attack on Ukraine, a conflict that the country says has already cost over 2,000 civilian lives in less than a week of fighting — the U.N estimate is in the hundreds.

The European Council said Wednesday that given Russia’s “unprovoked and unjustified military aggression against Ukraine,” Sputnik and RT broadcasts were suspended in the EU (RT English, RT UK, RT Germany, RT France, and RT Spanish).

Also: DirecTV Drops Russia‘s State-Owned RT Channel

The EU said the suspension lasts “until the Russian Federation and its associated outlets cease to conduct disinformation and information manipulation actions against the EU and its member states,” which it calls an operational tool in Russia’s attack and a “direct threat to the Union's public order and security.” The EU says both outlets are under either direct of indirect control of the Russian Federation.

Also: NAB Urges Broadcasters to Drop Russian State-Sponsored Content

DirecTV has dropped RT America, though Dish Network still shows up on RT’s website as a distributor of the network, which has offices in Moscow and Washington, D.C.

Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube are all blocking the Web version of RT, though the channel tweeted defiantly that it was still “alive and kicking.”

In 2017, the U.S. government required RT America to register as a foreign agent.  

DirecTV announced that it will no longer carry RT America, a channel backed by the Russian government, in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. 

"In line with our previous agreement with RT America, we are accelerating this year's contract expiration timeline and will no longer offer their programming effective immediately," DirecTV said in a statement. 

The pay TV company's decision follows an earlier announcement from Roku that RT's app would be removed from its channel store in Europe. Also, Facebook owner Meta Platforms, along with another social media giant, TikTok, said they would block user access to RT and to Russian news agency Sputnik in the European Union. 

"When it comes to the Russian voice, or just a different perspective, it is not allowed to exist in the free media space, said Anna Belkina, RT's deputy editor-in-chief, responding to Reuters. 

DirecTV was spun off from AT&T last year and is now independently managed under a joint-venture arrangement 30% owned by private equity firm TPG. 

RT America remains available on Dish Network, as well as a few smaller cable systems, including Buckeye Cable. 

The FCC has set April 11 as the deadline for submitting data for its next report on U.S.-based, foreign-owned media outlets.

The Defense Authorization Act of 2019 requires all such outlets to submit a report to the commission at least every six months with the name of the media outlet and a description of the relationship of said outlet to any foreign principal owner as well as the legal structure of the relationship of that principal to the outlet and any funding it receives.

The first such reports were submitted Oct. 11.

By "foreign-owned," the FCC means "an agent of a foreign principal for
purposes of the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1918," and by "media outlet," it means both producers and distributors of video programming to MVPDs.

The requirement does not apply to "bona fide" foreign news organizations, but it does apply to RT, formerly Russian Television, which had to register as a foreign agent under pressure from the Justice Department.

The requirement was enacted in the John S. McCain Defense Authorization Act and is meant to better identify potential foreign influences on the media, an issue that was in the spotlight because of Russian election meddling.

RT was identified as a purveyor of Russian propaganda in a now-famous dossier on potential Russian influence on the election of President Donald Trump.

RT, the Russian government-backed programmer, said it is launching a new dedicated news channel in the United Kingdom to go along with ones in the United States (RT America and RTDoc). RT UK will launch on the Freeview and Sky platforms on Oct. 30, broadcasting from new London studios.

“It has always been RT’s goal to bring new perspectives to our viewers – to show them the side of the story they won’t see on the mainstream channels,” Margarita Simonyan, RT’s editor in chief, said in a release. “Now, with a dedicated UK channel, we can serve the needs and interests of the British public by promoting debate and new ways of thinking about specifically British issues.”

On-air presences on RT UK will include anchor Bill Dod, financial commentator Max Keiser and investigative talk show host Afshin Rattansi, RT said. The new channel will start out with 5 hours of dedicated U.K. programming per day, including live news and documentaries and chat-shows, supplemented by other RT channels, including RT International.

As reported by The Guardian and other outlets, RT has faced criticism (including from resigning correspondents) about coverage of Russia and Ukraine slanted toward the Kremlin's messaging.